Scars
by ChekhovTheTroper
Summary: He could see her flying, but at the same time, she was falling.


**DISCLAIMER: ****_Maleficent _****is too wicked and beastly for me to own...Angelina Jolie, though...I'm working on it. ._.**

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Even in her earthbound state, Diaval could see Maleficent's wings. They towered when spread, and they carried her with such divinity. Each feather glimmered with the morning dew and snatched the stars that fell from the night sky. She sat upon her prickled throne, wresting the good out of herself, but all he could imagine was the idea of seeing her fly with him.

"What do you think you're staring at?"

He shuddered, nodding. "My apologies, mistress. I was just taking notice of—"

"The Moors?"

"Yes," he added uncertainly. "Even after Lord-knows how many years as a raven, I still haven't gotten used to seeing nature like this."

"Then take a walk." Maleficent rose from her throne, sighing. "I'm going to do just that. I'll be at the riverspread."

Even as her dress seemed to glide down the stony stairs to the riverspread, her ominous gait was interjected by a pained wince after each step. Diaval held his breath, treading behind her. He tried to stay silent, but a tattletale pebble bounced off of a nearby rock. As she turned around, he immediately groped for the right words to say. "Mistress! Umm, sorry for—it's not like I was—I mean, sorry, I was just—"

"Follow me." A cold lilt mingled with the flatness of her words. He nodded, continuing down their path.

Something that Diaval couldn't comprehend was how beautiful the Moors looked, even in such a beastly state. The flowers spat at him wherever they walked, but he could still see dapples of color on their delicate petals. The charming willow-pixies, who shone like wisps of starlight whenever you pet them, absconded from the sight of their queen. The river they approached had darkened considerably from the muck and rubble that merged with the fish that swam in buoyant patterns whenever Maleficent laid eyes on them.

Diaval grinned at their animated tricks, and as he did, Maleficent took a deep breath, running her fingers around in catatonic circles. Strings of color were tugged to the surface, and a restless current of archaic hues were sewn into the shallow water.

"I never thought of you as the colorful type," Diaval smirked.

"Well, neither did I."

As Maleficent bent down to her knees and hovered above the water, Diaval's eyes glazed over the coarse wounds on her back. When he first saw her, he remembered how fleshy they looked, as well as how she couldn't easily manage the pain whenever she stopped to sob.

"What else can you do?" Diaval asked innocently.

Maleficent's eyes swelled with pique. "I could bring the flowers back to life and invite the other creatures to join, but that wouldn't be much fun."

"The fish still swim here."

"There's only so much you can take before the boredom gets to you."

Diaval kneeled beside her, diving into his impulse. "Why would you be bored when you can control everything here?"

Unexpectedly, Maleficent seemed to pale in response. She withdrew her hands and looked up at the starless sky. "Unfortunately, you can't control everything."

They saw the castle in the near distance, amassed in all its loftiness. Surely enough, there would be fanfares and celebration galore now that Stefan sat on the throne. There was music in the Moors once, but it wasn't from the tinkering of musical instruments. It was only the joyous conversations that would flitter throughout the land. The absence of sweet words proved to be a peaceful lullaby, but not a great morning revelry.

Maleficent turned to Diaval, eyes stoic and unflinching. "Show me your scars."

"I…beg your pardon?" he queried.

"I've told you my story," she insisted. "Now, I wish to hear yours."

Although the arbitrary inquisition was not very characteristic of her, Diaval reluctantly unbuttoned his shirt, feeling the apathetic breeze waft over him. As he craned forward to meet her gaze, she examined the intricate scars that were engrained into his body. They were like inner vines, always growing and ready to bloom.

Diaval disengaged, but as he buttoned up his shirt, he dove further. "I always knew there was a human spirit inside of me, and others did, too. I've been beaten and harassed by people from that land many times. The kings always have an odd belief that ravens are a sign of bad fortune. Either that, or you're just a tasty treat."

"Hmm. Must've forgotten their age-old customs."

"Well, lucky you," Diaval smiled grimly. "I wish I could forget. The many times I've come too close to the sun is pretty obvious."

"That doesn't explain why you have those scars. You only get bruises from getting beaten."

"Well, I guess I just—ow!"

Diaval flinched away as the color of his hand deepened. Maleficent acknowledged this, but didn't expect to see a rusted ring linger on a pile of rocks.

"Stefan's ring…worthless." Maleficent shooed it away by snapping her fingers, gently sending it into the water. She looked at Diaval's hand, seeing the red blotch dwindle from sight. "You're hurt by iron, too?"

"I suppose so." Diaval shrugged. "I've landed on hot iron many times before, so I don't see how it's different now."

"But you're not a fairy."

"But I've been exposed to magic before…I've seen fairies from other parts of the Moors, and they never liked my presence. I can't ever name a time someone didn't attack me!"

"And…here I am," Maleficent said unwarily.

"Maybe…that's why I flocked to you the night we met. You just looked like a familiar face."

Maleficent's eyes roamed around the vacant, serpentine scars. They were bashful in the misty light, but she could see all. Stories of being abused and wanting to abuse surfaced, but one look in those charcoal eyes debunked the latter. Diaval's worst attribute was his numerous transformations, but he never carried a torch from within. In the moon's nostalgic path, Maleficent wondered if her torch had burned since her parents disappeared.

Diaval, against his better judgement, let his hand brush over her horns. When she recoiled, his breath skipped. "It's OK. I won't do anything."

"Please," she whispered, refusing to succumb to unwise judgement.

Her horns were rough-hewn, and the scales engulfing the crown of her head carried a contradictory glint. He traced his fingers over them, withdrawing when he saw visible discomfort on her face. Then, with dumb admiration: "They're beautiful."

She glared at him, but when she saw the authentic kindliness in his eyes, she relented. She murmured begrudgingly, "Try not to admire them too much. I wouldn't want you to steal them, too."

Even though there was a consistent chill present in her voice, Diaval saw through it. He saw the bleeding, threadbare wires jutting out of her back. He saw the cane that stood tall while she leaned against it with a lopsided smile. With frightening vividness, he saw her flying, but at the same time, she's falling from the cliffs.

"Y'know," Diaval smirked, "I will never understand how a fairy, once so kind and loving, was named Maleficent."

Maleficent sighed. "Well, my parents said it rhymed with _magnificent_, so perhaps that was the reasoning. Magnificent Maleficent…how charming."

"Yes," Diaval nodded, watching the fish swim so enthusiastically. "Very charming."

Without much provocation, Maleficent straightened. "Please leave me alone right now. I have some thinking to do."

"I understand." Diaval said, but before pulling himself up, he noticed how frail and pallid she looked in the dim, silvery reflection of the Moon. Without hindrance, he leaned forward and let his lips trace over the outline of her cheekbone. Maleficent tensed, fixated on seeing the color come back to life, but when Diaval left wordlessly, she saw a flash of gold mingle with broken pieces of moonlight.

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**A/N: Well. I'm back after going through Hell and back. I know a lot of people are waiting on my other fanfics to be completed, and believe me when I say that I will get to it as soon as I can. However, due to my laptop dying and me losing my files, I gotta start from scratch because that's always fun. :/**

**So, in the meantime, I wrote this ****_Maleficent _****fanfic. It's kind of fluffy with some bloodstains here and there, but you'll get used to it. :)**

**-Peace from the Gun-Troper**


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